I believe that when I am a guest in someone’s country, it is my duty to spend a bit of money there and buy the goods that they would like to sell! So, fulfilling this obligation, we did some shopping while on the Island of St. Martin.
And I must say, we could have done so much more, because the things they had on offer were so very nice. There was such a variety of goods, from the most luxurious designer things, to lots and lots of handmade artisan pieces.
Also the vendors made it very easy to find their goods, with many of them bringing the things to you. For example, we bought the two cute wooden puzzles from a woman who had set up a table of handmade things in the lobby of our hotel one day. And I bought the pareo from a woman who was selling beautiful things on the beach. (That same beach vendor also really wanted to braid my hair, but I was not into having that cornrow look going on!)
We also shopped while we were in the cites, checking out a jewellery store in Philipburg, and the best market ever in Marigot.
Here is what we got …
These two wooden puzzles are gifts for some littles in our lives. I got home a little concerned that the one year old girl I bought the cat one for, might be too young for it yet, however I just googled what year old children like to play with and by chance the top of the list was ‘wooden animal puzzles’! Pheww. Now I am wondering if the three year old boy we got the fish one for will be too old to enjoy it! I hope not.
These next things were all purchased at the same jewellery shop in the Dutch city of Philipburg.
First there are the gifts that Nick and I got one another for our anniversary.
My pendant is made with black diamonds. Neither of us had ever seen them before and since I wear a lot of black, thought that this piece was perfect. I looked up black diamonds and they are (ethically, as were were told) mined in Brazil and they are like regular diamonds but contain carbon deposits, causing them to look black.
Nick is a fan of interesting watches, and this is the third one I have gotten him during our years together. We both loved the blue face on this one, made by Hanowa Swiss Military.
I could not resist the frog necklace made with pink opals, and got it for my mother as a thank you for house/cat sitting while we were away. (Hi mom :) Now you know what you’re getting!)
The other crystal and turquoise opal necklace is a little treat I bought myself, because the jeweler offered to add it to our purchase for a very reasonable price.
I got this silk jewellery travel pouch at a linen shop. Until now, I have never had something specifically meant to pack jewellery when traveling, and liked this one because it has a big pouch, as well as some smaller ones too.
You already saw this hat that Nick picked up in a little boutique in Marigot, in some of the photos. I love it on him. And now have an idea for one of his Christmas presents … a hat in a similar style but made of a winter-ready fabric. The hat shopping experience did tell me that he apparently has a very big head, so now I know what size to look for.
These next things were bought at the stands in the amazing market in Marigot.
The jewellery pieces are for our pre-teen nieces. The blue and green necklace is made of glass, and the bracelets are actually long lengths of beads with magnets, so they can cleverly be used as a bracelet, long necklace, and choker length necklace. The vendor offered the brightly coloured one to me as a gift when purchasing the others, so that one will stay with me!
The batik place-mats and cotton napkins were purchased from a French woman who had decorated her booth so nicely, with lavender sachets, lovely soaps and a dizzying array of gorgeous cotton things. Looking at the items after I got home caused me to wish I had bought more from her.
This all-cotton (yes, I have a thing for cotton!) cover-up will make a perfect casual dress or nightgown for me to wear around the house once the weather warms up here.
Back to the ‘pareo’ I bought on the beach. This is just a large piece of patterned fabric, that you just tie on, in a variety of different ways. I’ve never had one before and was happy to have it while there. It was really handy at the beach and I ended up using it quite a bit.
Finally, with time to kill at the airport when heading home, we dropped into a duty-free liqueur store. The proprietor had just opened his shop there and was eager to tell us all about the goods he had for sale. We bought a bottle of nice red wine, (a Chateauneuf du Pape by Calvet), which we will save for a special occasion, when it will bring back memories of the good time we had.
And not pictured is an original oil painting that we bought too, from the sweetest couple of elderly art dealers. It is currently at the framers being stretched and framed, so I will show it to you another time.
So that is all that we bought while away. And with this post, my discussion about our trip to St. Martin is finished.
Thank you for reading about our holiday and looking at my photos. I appreciate (always) your visits to my site.
xo loulou
